'Debt Sinkhole' lingo dumped on advice of expert consultants

Send Them Up the Escalator

Bishop Billy Cole was always mentoring. Even when an elder serving under him did not yet realize that pastoring was in the future, still the stories and lessons learned from the bishop were good preparation for pastoring, whether the younger minister knew it or not.

Many lessons that I learned from Brother Cole have benefited me in pastoring later. His true story called “Send Them Up the Escalator” (below) has been very helpful.

In pastoring there are wonderful moments when I am very confident I’ve heard from God for what to preach. It’s great when the Lord gives you a nudge and you know which direction to go. However, painfully, being a pastor also means that on many occasions you must preach regardless of whether you have a nudge from above or not. Being able to be a blessing over the long haul depends on how you react to those in-between times—when you’re forced to “carry the mail” without having been given any mail! What will you say then?

When I’m in such a condition, sometimes I consciously think back to the times I heard Brother Cole recount a true story about him being in an airport with Rev. Charles Mahaney, an incessant cut-up. I’m going by memory, so it’s somewhat of a paraphrase.

Brother Cole and Brother Mahaney, two battle-hardened road warriors, were unsure of where to go inside a massive airport. They passed one unmanned helpdesk after another. Brother Cole’s normal way to react to such circumstances might have been a slowly increasing frustration and mounting tension. Whether Charlie Mahaney simply was wired differently, or whether he was trying to defuse the situation, he reacted with humor.

As the two confused travelers approached yet another empty helpdesk, Mahaney suddenly jumped behind the desk and pretended to be an employee of the airport. Immediately a line of people formed! Mahaney began giving advice!

(I have tried to imagine what faces the great Billy Cole must have made as he watched his humorous friend deal with one weary traveler after another. )

Suddenly, an actual airport employee appeared. Naturally, he was not overjoyed at the fact that an imposter was dealing out unofficial (and potentially detrimental) “help” advice. Under the employee’s stern gaze, Brother Mahaney vacated the helpdesk.

“Just what have you been telling people?” the employee asked.

Mahaney answered, “I told everybody to go up the escalator, and there would be help there.”

After a tense pause, the employee seemed to relax and said, “That’s OK, actually. There really is a staffed desk at the top of the escalator.”

After telling this story to his elders, Brother Cole always gave his huge, unguarded, heart-warming laugh. He would conclude by making a helpful application:

“Sometimes, you won’t know exactly what to preach,” he said. “That’s no time to break out some new, weird doctrine. That’s the time to stay safe. Preach something you know well, such as Acts 2:38 and Jesus-name baptism, or about the Oneness of God. When you don’t know where to send folks, be safe and just send them up the escalator!”

Thank you, Bishop. We miss you. I know you’re enjoying life above, at the top of the escalator. I’m doing my best to send people up. I plan on getting there myself too.

Billy Cole with Doug Joseph on July 27, 2007. Brother Cole is holding the very first proof copy of the book The Life and Ministry of Billy and Shirley Cole). The year 2007 was a special one: In spite of his illness and age, Brother Cole was able to come to WV District UPCI Youth Camp and speak. While he was there, the district inducted him into the Esteemed Elders Society. Also, after over three years of work, Brother Joseph was able to present to Brother Cole the very first proof copy of the book containing the Cole's memoirs.

Posted via email from Doug Joseph

Microsoft's New Logo compared with my work 9 years ago

Couldn't help but notice that the newly unveiled Microsoft logo looks eerily familiar....

Below is their new corporate crest, released on Thursday, August 23, 2012:

Compare that with the logo I designed for WV UPCI's official site and departments circa 2003, about 9 years ago:

The all-caps (seen in both my old design as well as theirs of the same time period) were still in use at the time, and M$ should well have shed that by now (as I did with the new look released for WV UPCI about two years ago, seen below). Other than that, their new digs look amazingly similar to my old design work. I'm chalking it up to simply being years ahead of my time (smile). I am available for freelance work, by the way. PS: I owe a debt of gratitude to Paul Pavolni of Voppa.com. He has influenced me, design-wise. Thanks, friend.

Zach Sandy: killed by lightning; now alive and well!

Press release: July 13, 2012

For immediate release.

See more at mycac.net/zach/

Parkersburg, WV - On Wednesday, July 11, 2012, 18-year-old Zachary Sandy was struck by lightning and was without pulse or breath for somewhere between 20 to 40 minutes.

The lightning strike happened on a baseball field in Parkersburg, WV that was being used by a church-sponsored youth camp. Several others who were on the ballfield were also knocked down by the lightning, but other than Sandy, none was seriously injured. The blast literally shook the ground. Pastor Tisdale, local to the area, was among those knocked down. His wife was also impacted by the blast. Their son, a young preacher named Caleb Tisdale, was taken to his knees by the strike. Along with others, the young Tisdale, who knows CPR, rushed to Zach, who was laid out and stiff as a board. Tisdale said that smoke was literally coming from Sandy's mouth and body; an image he said he will never forget. Sandy's shirt showed burn marks and smelled like it had come from a furnace. The lightning had blown holes in the young man's tennis shoes as the electricity exited his body. The hair on the back of his head was singed and burned where the lightning entered his body. He had broad, red, track marks and second-degree burns caused by the lightning having traveled through his body. His cell phone was fried, its screen shattered, a cover blown off, and some buttons partially melted. Immediately both prayer and CPR were implemented.

Sandy was not breathing, and he had no pulse. Tisdale performed CPR on his friend until being relieved by paramedics, who arrived about 15 minutes later. It was not until sometime after Sandy was loaded into the ambulance and was on his way to Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital in Parkersburg that he finally displayed a faint pulse. By the time he arrived there, he had been intubated (put on a breathing machine). He had a stable heart rate. There was talk of airlifting him to either WVU Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, WV or the West Penn Hospital Burn Center in Pittsburgh, PA. However, a helicopter could not be procured at the time. So, he was taken by ground to Morgantown. There a crowd of family, church members, and other friends had gathered, and an impromptu prayer meeting was held. Sandy was flown from there to West Penn Hospital Burn Center.

Within hours, prayer support had been registered from over 30 states and two foreign countries. The very next day, the tube and breathing machine were removed, and Sandy spoke, drank, ate, and walked. The following day, doctors reported that all neurological tests had come back normal, and that as soon as Sandy's muscle enzymes returned to normal, he could be discharged and sent home. Both family, church, and friends agree that there is no other explanation but a miracle. At the Christian Apostolic Church in Clarksburg, WV, Sandy's pastor, Rev. Doug Joseph, stated, "Thus far, each and every prayer has been answered. At first we were cautioned that he might suffer brain damage from being under CPR for so long without a pulse. Everyone prayed and the Lord answered. Then we were cautioned that his kidneys might not work properly or that other internal organs could be damaged. Again the Lord heard prayers. We were warned that burns caused by lightning strikes almost always grow worse over time before they get better. His burns did the exact opposite. We're all elated and thankful for the great touch of God bestowed on this precious young man."

Details are available at: mycac.net/zach/

----
For more info, contact:

Pastor Doug Joseph
Christian Apostolic Church (UPCI)
334 Glen Falls Rd
Clarksburg, WV 26301
(304) 624-4459

Note: Photos, updates, links, etc are at mycac.net/zach/

Forever Fighting Bad Guys (or Eternity with the Good Guys)

Our most beloved stories focus on times of crisis. Humans may say and think that we long for peace, but as a species we secretly think such times would be too boring. We are drawn to drama, to the aid of the underdog. Something deep inside elicits exciting existence -- times of horror haunting us, of evil evolving in our midst, and of crisis crushing us unless we can vanquish the demons and go from victims to victors. Even if we don't truly long for terrible times, we at least crave stories of such.

This is perhaps why some scoff at the Bible's promise of eternal life. Some supposedly wizened teachers' words betray an obtuse opinion that God never made any cosmoses prior to our own, and that He likewise must never have done any other creating after leaving off constructing our cosmos -- except, they happily confess, His maintenance of a boring, fabled home of harp-strumming angels floating on cumulus clouds. How boring.

Yet the Holy Scriptures paint a different picture: war in the heavens, fought amongst angelic species predating us, and who (like humans) have broad capacity for choice, even to rebel against God. The precocious prospect of counting epochs like days and millennia like hours, as we develop continually through aiding young, unique, future species, is enthralling to this whispering warrior, who is quite certain that Eternity with the Good Guys will be far more exciting than even our grandest imagination can grasp.

One academic type has argued that it is proof of our evolution that we have grown from caring about family to village, from village to caring about state, and from state to feeling patriotic about nation. He argued that the next step in our evolution is to care about our global populace. Listen: It is neither evolution nor good when the expediency of the masses overrules the conviction of conscience of the individual or minority. Finally, in the end, it will be maturity, not evolution, that truly takes us even further than caring about all humans globally, onward to caring for new species God has not even created yet. There will be battles against evil. Wars against tyrants. Excitement. Crisis. Are you up for it?

There's still time to get it by Christmas

There is to be a book signing in the foyer of Christian Apostolic Church (Clarksburg, WV) on Sunday, December 18, 2011 (before and after the services). Available copies will be on hand.

Order your paperback copies online at either Amazon or AuthorStock. (Note: To have your shipped copy signed by the author, order from AuthorStock and mention so in a note during payment or via email.) 

For those who desire an ebook, the Kindle version is available as well. In addition to Kindle devices, the ebook can be read on Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone, iPad, iPod, or Blackberry -- via a free Kindle application.

If you loved “The Chronicles of Narnia” series by C.S. Lewis, then you are sure to enjoy Doug Joseph’s “The Last Bye.” Instead of “The Horse and His Boy,” this novel is more like “The Flying Dinosaur and His Boy.” This fun, exciting, and heart-warming tale is a stand-alone read. Yet it is also the much-anticipated continuation of the amazing, uplifting story arc that began with Tess and Daniel in “New Immortal” and “Tesseract” (Books I & II). In this thrilling episode, everything hinges on their alienated-yet-adventurous son, P’erry. While growing up on a distant moon-world, called Sset, P’erry suffers heartache, makes friends, discovers the Tirra (great flying creatures), has breath-taking adventures, and achieves phenomenal, crucial accomplishments for the people of his world.

Purchase the book now in Paperback or Kindle.

Visit my Amazon Author Page

Check out my writing: The Skyport Chronicles, Books I, II, and III

Tips for new authors (Q&A)

Recently a new writer sent me the following:

I am writing a book called "The Mirror of Deadly Reflections: Is that God or Me?" I started in October 2010, and I am about 70% done now. About 6 months ago I was told that I might want to think about getting a book presentation together in order to possibly gain support for editing expenses.

This brings me to my reason for writing. Someone told me that you might have some wisdom for me and give me intelligent direction on going about creating a book presentation. They said that you had written books in the past, and are highly successful in writing. I am nervous to even think of doing such a thing, and that is why they suggested that I talk to you.

I have no idea what a book presentation even consists of. Can you give me some ground rules for creating a presentation on a new book? Is there anything that I need to stay clear of saying or suggesting? The presentation will be used both on the internet and by mail, with the possibility of in person (Lord help me) if the need arose.

Thank you for your time and have a blessed day,

I answered with the following:

Writing your book tends to make you an expert on your subject. Publishing your books tends to help you be seen as such. Imagine that after you are published, someone wants to interview you on radio or TV. What would you want to take with you when you go? That is what you put into your book presentation. Or, imagine that you are going to do a book signing at a bookstore, and you are to be given 10, 20, or 30 minutes to speak. What would you want to take with you when you go? That is what you put into your book presentation.

The world of publishing has changed dramatically, and it is still changing. Three technologies have changed the whole game.

1. "Print On Demand" (aka POD) -- There is now no need for anyone (neither a publishing company nor a self-publishing author) to front thousands of dollars for a long print run. A book on a hard drive can be turned into a paperback on demand, with the cost per book being the same for 1, 10, 100, or 1000 copies.
2. The Internet -- has begun a sweeping change that is taking the power base from the big, traditional publishers and spreading it out over the masses. The amount of power held by any single publisher is lessened, as it is diluted across many. Amazon is not a publisher; it is a market place. Barnes and Noble is trying to follow suit. (B&N seems to always be the runner up, always late in catching up to Amazon.)
3. eBooks -- have changed the degree of need for ink and paper, and that change is still shaking out. Kindle is Amazon's dominant force here. B&N tries to catch up with Nook.

In the old days, you, as a writer, would self-promote (aka self-publish) yourself to a small audience of big, traditional publishers. They would close doors, and maybe, perhaps, you might get one to open a door. Often, that one would cause you to sign away some or much of your rights in exchange for editing, designing, and printing, and (some) promoting. Too often they would then tell you, the author, that the success of your book depends on your own personal promotion of your book.

If their ability to promote is not sufficient, then is all they are otherwise offering worth signing away rights and a large part of what should be your royalties? They offer a sense of legitimacy, an air of professionalism, and skills of editing, designing, and printing.

The days of authors needing their sense of legitimacy are fading. Whether or not you are professional does not depend on them. The skills of editing and designing can be hired very affordably, without signing away rights or royalties. The cost of printing has all but dissipated.

I have all the necessary skills of writing, editing, and designing. (The editing part is largely thanks to my wife.) I don't need anyone's help to enhance my professionalism, or my personal sense of legitimacy.

For all these reasons and more, I choose to self publish first, and then offer my finished product to a big, traditional publisher. Such has gotten my writing into their catalogs and on their websites, and even some of their promotions. Self publishing through CreateSpace.com also automatically gets my writing up for sale on Amazon.com. (Amazon owns CreateSpace.)

I also sell to my friends, family, and acquaintances through a website called AuthorStock.com -- a site I founded for myself and other Christian authors. I can take orders, get the full amount directly, and do my own shipping, while not having any middle-man take a cut. It also lets me sign my books before shipping them, if that is desired.

To see a actual bookstores powered by AuthorStock.com, visit either of the following:

http://skyportchronicles.com/
http://billycolebook.com/

If you can provide an edited, laid-out book interior as a PDF, and a cover design (wrap-around) as a PDF (you can even use templates from the CreateSpace web site) then you can print a book with CreateSpace for NO upfront costs.

Hope this helps.

The Last Bye - new novel by Doug Joseph

If you loved “The Chronicles of Narnia” series by C.S. Lewis, then you are sure to enjoy D. Joseph’s “The Last Bye.” Instead of “The Horse and His Boy,” this novel is more like “The Flying Dinosaur and His Boy.” This fun, exciting, and heart-warming tale is a stand-alone read. Yet it is also the much-anticipated continuation of the amazing, uplifting story arc that began with Tess and Daniel in “New Immortal” and “Tesseract” (Books I & II). In this thrilling episode, everything hinges on their alienated-yet-adventurous son, P’erry. While growing up on a distant moon-world, called Sset, P’erry suffers heartache, makes friends, discovers the Tirra (great flying creatures), has breath-taking adventures, and achieves phenomenal, crucial accomplishments for the people of his world.

Purchase the book now in Paperback or Kindle.

Visit my Amazon Author Page

Check out my writing: The Skyport Chronicles, Books I, II, and III

How to install OS X Leopard 10.5.8 on Dell Inspiron 2200 laptop

After quite a bit of research and attempting several different methods, I found that the easiest way for me to get the highest version of OS X Leopard (10.5.8) installed onto an old Dell Inspiron 2200 laptop was to use iDeneb 1.6, which gets the 10.5.8 kexts (think: drivers) installed (but does not get the video working), and then go behind it and run iDeneb 1.4, leaving everything unchecked except for the audio (choosing AC97) and the video (choosing GMA900). The reason is because while iDeneb 1.4 only goes up to 10.5.6, it has audio and video drivers that actually work on this unit. Once finished, Mac's built-in Software Update feature can be used to get the latest updates from Apple for all the various things, such as Java, iTunes, etc. Also, since 10.5.8 was the final update for the Leopard OS (10.5), the system will not prompt for any OS update beyond that which the machine and the drivers can support. By the way, I installed a 1GB ram chip, bringing this unit's total ram to 1.25 GB. It is working very well. Here are the pertinent iDeneb settings:

Installing iDeneb 1.6 (the first pass) the following are to be checked:

• iDeneb Main system
• iDeneb OSx86 Components 10.5.8 Ready

• Bootloader: 

• Chameleon v2

Kernel: 

• 9.8.0 Kernel Qoopz

iDeneb x86 Essential Patches

• Apple Decrypt
• Disabler
• DSDT Patcher
• Time Machine Fix
• OpenHaltRestart
• PS/2 Drivers

• VooDooPS2Controller
• VooDooPS2 Trackpad

AboutThisMac Fix

SystemProfiler Fix

Fix: 

• CPUS=1_Fix
• Firewire Remove
• Sealbelt Fix

Drivers: 

• Audio: 

• VooDooHDA (had to later be selected as AC97 during iDeneb 1.4)

Chipset: 

• ICHx Fixed

Network: 

• Ethernet

• Intel100ProVE

Wireless: 

• Broadcom Wifi

System Management: 

• SpeedStep

• VooDooPower
• GenericCPUPMControl

Video: 

• Intel

• GMA 950 Laptop (had to later be selected as GMA 900 during iDeneb 1.4)

Running the install of iDeneb 1.4 (the second pass) the following are to be checked:

• Audio: 
• AC97
• Video: 
• Intel
• GMA 900

Sincerely,

Pastor J

Word of the Day

Zeitgeist

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Zeitgeist (disambiguation).

Look up zeitgeist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Zeitgeist (German pronunciation: [ˈtsaɪtɡaɪst] ( listen)) is "the spirit of the times" or "the spirit of the age." ^[1] Zeitgeist is the general cultural, intellectual, ethical, spiritual, and/or political climate within a nation or even specific groups, along with the general ambiance, morals, sociocultural direction, and mood associated with an era.

The term is a loanword from German Zeit – "time" (cognate with English "tide" and "time") and Geist – "spirit" (cognate with English "ghost").

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitgeist

Posted via email from DougJoseph.net

Pray for Sis. Bev Feathers

Sis. Bev Feathers fell on this past Saturday. She dislocated her wrist, which they set, and broke her thumb and a wrist bone. She is wearing a cast right now, and she is in a lot of pain. They are waiting to see if the dislocation will stay. If not, they will have to do surgery to place a pin. She really needs our prayers. Please help us pray. Thank you!

Posted via email from CAC Prayer Wall

"The King Who Sees" - A reminder from the Altar

There is something so powerful about the way God's presence puts everything in proper perspective when we approach Him openly and honestly. Bowed before His glory, no petty rationalization, biased justification, defensive argument, or attempted distraction can be offered. What's the use of such antics when one is beholden to the King Who Sees your heart's deepest crevices?

"Have no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3b).

The way up is down. The death of the carnal is the end of the curse. When we lay our carnality on the altar, He helps us to mortify the sinful nature's deeds (Romans 8:13).

Don't try to hide that which cannot be hidden from Him. Don't waste life's days refusing to acknowledge or confront the innermost defects and problems resulting from unwise choices. We are all casualties of the curse. Yet when, through humble repentance before Him, we divest ourselves of carnal aspects that harbor the curse, we see Him work a change that overpowers the curse and delivers us from "the body of this death."

If you have not offered yourself before Him in this way, or perhaps you have yet not for a while, then don't delay. Mere moments of true openness before Him does more than could ever be accomplished by going through "religious" motions. The stench of flesh is not that which ascends while the carnal nature is burning on the altar. A thousand times no. The true stench of flesh is that odor of sin, pride, and self-will, that foulness that oozes from our pores as we attempt to live our life on our own, without trusting Him by building an altar and laying ourselves upon it. Cry out with Paul, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" (Philippians 3:10). 

"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Romans 8:13).

Cool: external "Lion Recovery" fits on meager 2GB drives!

If you buy a newer Mac laptop that comes preloaded with the new OS X Lion, it won't come with any recovery discs. There is now a hidden, protected partition on the laptop's hard drive that can be booted into by holding down "Option" during start up. It will help you in restoration. You can either use it to attempt repair of your drive's existing files, or it will help you "nuke and repave" (wipe all and reinstall everything).

So my next question was, does Apple have or allow a "burn your own recovery discs" feature like other companies provide?

Well, check out this: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1433

Apple has released an app that you can download (free), which can turn any USB-connected drive (such as, for instance, a USB thumbdrive) into an external emergency recovery partition.

According to the Apple website:

Built right into OS X Lion, Lion Recovery lets you repair disks or reinstall OS X Lion without the need for a physical disc.

The Lion Recovery Disk Assistant lets you create Lion Recovery on an external drive that has all of the same capabilities as the built-in Lion Recovery: reinstall Lion, repair the disk using Disk Utility, restore from a Time Machine backup, or browse the web with Safari.

Note: In order to create an external Lion Recovery using the Lion Recovery Assistant, the Mac must have an existing Recovery HD.

I downloaded it, and succeeded while using a meager 2GB thumbdrive! Obviously, the folks at Apple put some thought into how small of a drive they would support. I am amazed they decided to support drives as small as 2GB. Either they did some awfully tight compression, or they limited how much gets included in the recovery. For example, new Macs come with not only OS X Lion, but also iLife. Are they squeezing both onto that 2GB thumbdrive?

That question led me to reinsert the thumbdrive. Previously, before I had ejected it after it was first made, it showed up in the Finder as a disk image with an App file on it. When I resinserted it to check it more carefully, nothing at all shows up in Finder. Hmm. I had a memory come to mind of a character from the Lord of the Rings movies saying (about the ring), "Keep it secret. Keep it safe." Oh, well. I'm not willing to attempt a dry run of restoring, just to find out what it does.

It seems like a wise precaution to visit the link, download the free assistant, and make your own emergency recovery drive. Why? If your hard drive suffers a melt-down that is merely file related, then your hidden recovery partition will be fine. But if it suffers full blown mechanical failure, then you could easily find yourself unable to access anything at all on the drive. If you wind up having to buy and install a new drive (and you're no longer under Apple Care) it would really help you to have this emergency drive. It takes only moments to download and create yours, and 2GB thumbdrives are dirt cheap.

In a somewhat-related vein, remember that if you bought a downloadable copy of OS X Lion ($29.99), there is a process by which you can legally burn an installation DVD of it. I know it works, because I have done it.

Posted via email from DougJoseph.net

iPhone 4s is very cool, but...

My rant earlier today about the so-called reputable sources being not so reputable, is now vindicated. Apple finally announced, not the iPhone 5, but just the iPhone 4s. Speaking of which, the iPhone 4s is very cool, but it's not what the iPhone 5 has been touted to become. We still need a changeable battery and the freedom to insert our own (affordable) storage medium, like a micro SD, for example. Can you say, "Milk it for all it's worth?" Oh well. It is what it is. Now off the store to go buy one. :-)

Posted via email from DougJoseph.net

iPhone 5 Release!

We have it from reputable sources that...

All the other reputable sources are disreputable. The "company" (aka Apple, Inc.) are masters of buzz, and part of their wizardry is in getting all these people/sites/news outlets to quoting "sources" that don't know what they're talking about, most times without even using quotes, sometimes without using names (or, when they do, not names that have "Apple, Inc." in them or even remotely connected to them), and without using any concrete details. Anyhoo,

We have it from reputable sources that...

Today, October 4, 2011, Apple may or may not unveil the iPhone 5, and it may or may not have a tear-drop form factor, and it may or may not be available within two to three weeks after the maybe/maybe not unveiling today.

Sorry for the rant. Went online to see if today's Apple event had already taken place, and if so, what the report was. I found nothing but wild speculation, finally thought, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Well, actually I thought, "I am about as qualified to speculate as any of these so-called sources," and I decided to post a rant. I feel better. Thank you for reading. Click comment to vent your own rant. Or just to make me feel better. Or just because you can.

We "less-than-three" you Tim/Tom Cook! Or whatever your name is. <3

Posted via email from DougJoseph.net

PLEASE PRAY FOR JAXON

From Sister Renee Bargo:

Everyone please pray for a co-worker's son, JAXON WEBBER (4 yrs old I think). He has cancer, and the doctors say he has 6 to 8 weeks to live. They can do nothing else for him. He has went through many treatments which have been unsuccessful, BUT we know the Almighty Healer. Thanks!!

Posted via email from CAC Prayer Wall

I've seen the Mac's future

OS X Snow Leopard was all the rage until Apple released OS X Lion a few days ago. Ever wonder what Apple will use for code names for its new OS X releases once all the big cat names are used up? I've seen the future, and it isn't pretty. On the bright side, the company's brag lines for the release will tout that holographic interface elements [will] allow you to tap, swipe, and scroll your way through your apps using fluid Mid-Air gestures that make everything you do feel more natural and direct. Also, full-room apps [will] allow you to compute no matter where you are enjoying your Mac. I could tell you more, but then I'd have to go forward in time and stay there, so I would not be killed in this present timeline. :-) I'm already in danger. The meerkats are coming for me.

Posted via email from DougJoseph.net

McD's Bad Drive-Through Experience

This was perhaps the most annoying drive-through experience I've ever had.

I wanted the #6 combo meal -- a crispy club sandwich with fries and my choice of drink.

Me: I would like a #6 meal.

McD: [murmuring, nearly silent]

Me: I can barely hear you.

McD: [Speaking up, more volume] 

McD: What kind of kids meal would you like?

Me: No, you misheard me. I would like a Number, Six, Meal, and I do want the Swiss cheese. 

McD: [Rings me up a #6, hold everything except the cheese.]

McD: [Rings me up a sweet tea, which I did not order.]

Me: No, I did not tell you to take everything off the sandwich. I said I like the Swiss cheese.

McD: [Clears the screen]

McD: [Rings me up a #6, hold the cheese.]

McD: [Rings me up a sweet tea, which, again, I did not order.]

Me: No, I did not tell you to hold the cheese. I said I want the cheese. I like Swiss cheese. We're having some trouble communicating. Can you understand me?

McD: [Getting snippy. Replies with a bad attitude.]

McD: Yes.... Sir.

McD: [Clears the screen]

McD: [Rings me up a #6.]

McD: [Rings me up a sweet tea, which, again, I did not order.]

Me: You have rung up a sweet tea that I did not order.

McD: [Clears the screen]

McD: [Rings me up a #6, special note on the cheese.]

McD: [Long pause....]

Me: Let me know when you're ready.

McD: [Asks the following question begrudgingly, as though too lazy to ask, and frustrated to have to ask...]

McD: What would you like to drink?

Me: Mr. Pibb or Dr. Pepper. 

McD: [Rings me up the correct drink.]

McD: [Asks the following question with a smarmy tone]

McD: Is the screen correct?

Me: Yes. Thank you.

...So then I drive up, pay, move up, get the food, and check the bag. Looks OK. I drive away. Then I open the package to eat, and there is no cheese on my sandwich.

I turn around and drive back. I park and walk in. Stepping up to an abandoned service counter, and call to the nearest employees standing on the far side of the restaurant, "Excuse me." 

No luck. 

"Excuse me." 

No reply. 

"Excuse me!" 

Finally, a drive-through delivery girl starts saying, "Oh, he wants to talk to someone!" while another asks me if there is a problem. 

I reply that I had asked three times for Swiss cheese, and I have a sandwich outside with no cheese on it. "Can someone get me some Swiss cheese, please?"

Employees start scurrying away, while the drive-through delivery girl seemingly decides it's not her problem. 

I thought one of them might have gone to get me some Swiss cheese. No dice.

Apparently none of the employees wanted to talk to me or help me, so someone among them had gone to fetch the manager.

Out comes the manager, with an employee in tow. I asked the employee behind her, "Is no one helping me yet?"

No answer from the employee.

"What seems to be the problem?" asks the manager.

I was explaining, when she stopped me to ask what kind of sandwich.

I thought, "What does it matter? I just want a slice of Swiss cheese that I paid for!" However, I told her it was a club.

Then she wanted to know whether it was crispy or grilled.

Sigh. "Crispy."

She walked away. I thought, "Well, maybe I will get a slice of Swiss cheese." 

I waited.

Finally, she back with a whole sandwich, saying this one has cheese. At that point, I just kind of gave up, said, "Thank you," and took the sandwich. 

It did have Swiss cheese on it.

Some may say it's not worth the trouble. I am tempted to say that, but, "Oh, the power of cheese!" Did I mention that I like the Swiss cheese?

Posted via email from DougJoseph.net

My Snow Leopard Hackintosh Experience with a Dell Vostro 1510

I was recently given a non-functioning laptop (Dell Vostro 1510), which I decided to fix up and install the Mac operating system on. Its power supply was bad. (It cost only $10 on eBay to get a replacement.) Its processor was good (Intel Core 2 Duo). The wireless card, graphics processor, etc, were all fairly compatible. Its SATA hard drive was good, but it was a little small (80 GB). So I bought a new SATA hard drive for it (eBay, again), ramping it up to 500 GB. Its RAM was a little lean (only 1 GB), so I bought some new RAM (not eBay that time) and upgraded it to 4 GB.

Using a Mac retail DVD for the install, I now have the unit running OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.7. By tweaking my DSDT file and using selected KEXTs, I was able to get everything working except for the SD card reader, which is a Ricoh multi-card reader (if anyone has any tips on that, let me know).

At that point, this formerly "Plain Jane" Vostro 1510 was running pretty sweet. However, it originally came with a low-end optical drive that could only read DVDs; it could not write them. So I bought a Sony Optiarc DVD burner (eBay, again). Based on a little eBay research, I knew that drive was compatible.

This unit is a slot-loading type of laptop, as far as CDs and DVDs go. That means replacing the optical drive is a bit of a chore. I had considered yanking the unit open without any special guidance, but I have opened just enough laptops to know that I would probably be better off to have a guide. This online guide was very helpful to me. My hat is off to that site for their wonderful help!

Posted via email from DougJoseph.net

Fixed! VMWare Fusion 'unable to create a VSS snapshot of the source volume(s) - error code 2147754767 (0x8004230F)'

So, I was trying to use to use VMWare Fusion 3.1.2 to import my existing Windows XP Pro SP3 machine over as a virtual machine for use on my Macbook Pro (OS X 10.6.7). I kept getting a dead stop with this error: "unable to create a VSS snapshot of the source volume(s)." It was usually accompanied with an error code, which at one point I copied as: "2147754767 (0x8004230F)." After hours of searching the Web and trying all kinds of things, I finally found this that worked: 

http://forums.whatthetech.com/index.php?s=125f82392e07398e4607e68bcc99acc3&showtopic=110723&view=findpost&p=638670

Just in case the above link is dead by the time you read this, below is a copy of the post by Ztruker. (Kudos to Ztruker, by the way!) When I checked the GUID in my system, it did not match. When I edited it my Regedit app on the XP unit, the MS Software Shadow Copy Provider Service finally became functional. I manually started it, and then the VMWare Fusion Migration Agent finally was able to do its job. Thanks, Ztruker, whoever you are!

POST:

Definitely not a space problem then.

More searching found this. A remote possibility but worth taking a few minutes to look at:

QUOTE:

This may not be applicable to your situation, however might be worth a look. I have had similar problems with VSS on XP machines that turned out to be caused by the MS Software Shadow Copy Provider Service (SwPrv). You should be able to manually start and stop both VSS and SwPrv (net start vss) (net start SwPrv). If VSS manually starts OK, but you get an error when trying to start SwPrV, then you could have a permissions problem with it (account used to start it? should be system account), or a registry error with the services command line. I have run across several situations with XP machines where the command line for the SwPrv service is incorrect.

Possible Solution (these instructions are for XP)

Open Control Panel, Administrative Tools, COMPONENT Services

Inside the Console Root folder, goto COMPONENT Services -> Computers -> My Computer -> Com+ Applications.

On the top toolbar, click on View, Status (or click the Status button on the toolbar).

You will see all Com+ applications and their statuses including the Application ID and the PID (if currently running).

Make a note of the Application ID for the MS Software Shadow Copy Provider entry.

Next check the command line used for the SwPrv service. Navigate back to the top root folder. Inside the Console Root folder, goto Services (local). Note, you can also get here from Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services.

Find the MS Software Shadow Copy Provider Service and double click on it. Notice the Path to Executable field. It will have an entry similar to the following:

C:\WINDOWS\System32\dllhost.exe /Processid:{xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx}

Check to make sure that the GUID inside the curly brackets is the exact same as what you found in the Application ID in the first step. If it isn't, then this is what is preventing the service from starting.

To correct, open regedit and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SwPrv

Double click on the ImagePath value and make the necessary correction.

It is obviously a good idea to export a backup reg file of the above key in case you make a mistake or need to restore the original settings.

This is from Post #15 here: http://www.computing.net/answers/windows-2...rror-/5105.html

I checked this on my XP system and the GUID matched. 

Sincerely,

Pastor J

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Check out my writing: Books One & Two of the Millennial Teleport Trilogy

Book One: New Immortal -- Prophecy. Sci-fi. Adventure.

Book Two: Tesseract -- Sci-fi. Adventure. Romance. From a Christian perspective.

Book Three: Coming in December 2011

Read free samples of the Millennial Teleport Trilogy on Amazon.com

Posted via email from DougJoseph.net